Uh, 'tis a gavel, bruh'.
Have you ever thought much about the "hammer" on the MET Premium playfield? I think John Borg is a bit of a twit. He put a gavel (inspired by the album art from AJFA) on the playfield but insisted on calling it a hammer. Collectors who buy the game don't know any better. I s'pose the gavel is less badass than a hammer, so no one at Stern or their publicity team was all that motivated to call a spade a spade. I mean, look at it. It ain't no hammer. It's a gavel. If you accept that it's a gavel, the layout becomes more "judicial" and less - I don't know, destructive? As I say, less badass. A gavel is struck against a wooden disc, typically, to command instant attention, to restore order in a courtroom, to finalize a ruling, etc. But what is MET's gavel actually doing? Is it calling the proceedings to order? Is it emphasizing a proclamation? Well, no: it's coming down to crush a pinball. Makes perfect sense. Good job, John Borg.
If it's still not obvious, you might consult Pushead's own gavel image that grace's AJFA's LP sleeve. If Stern didn't pay Mr. Pushead royalties for this gavel idea, they should count themselves lucky. Good job, Gary Stern.
Pushead.Gavel (resized).jpg